Really good Penguin stories have been pretty nonexistent for several years now, excluding Penguin: Pain and Prejudice. Although, it’s nice seeing him come back around recently in the Red Hood and Batman titles. But I love the character and want something more out of him than just being some gunrunning, nightclub owning, informant for Batman.

I’ve owned the single issues of this series since it came out back in 1990 but I hadn’t read it since then and didn’t really remember the story, other than I liked it when I was in sixth grade.

Going back to it was cool, as it was pretty good and reminded me how much I loved reading Batman and Detective Comics from this era. This story actually crossed over both of those titles, as it appeared in Bamtan issues 448 and 449, as well as Detective Comics issue 615.

It probably also helps that this was written by the great Marv Wolfman, as well as Alan Grant. Back in 1990, I didn’t know Wolfman’s work well enough but over the years, he’s come to be one of my favorite writers from the ’80s.

And while this book had different artists on all three issues, everything looked and felt pretty consistent. Comics today have real trouble with that, as artists can be switched out so frequently that a comic title can look completely different from month to month. If anything, these issues showed me how good editorial and the planning process was almost three decades ago.

What I really liked about the story is that the Penguin had a really cool scheme. He took in this computer whiz hunchback and used him to develop a secret weapon. While not quite a Death Star, the Penguin’s weapon saw him take control of birds so that he can use them to commit crimes. It’s silly, for sure, but it fits well within the style and the time that this was written. Besides, Tim Burton had mind-controlled penguins in Batman Returns, two years after this, and people ate it up.

The Penguin Affair was fun to revisit and if anything, it makes me want to pick up more old Batman story arcs that I have stored away in my big library of floppies.

Rating: 7.75/10Pairs well with: other Batman and Detective Comics story arcs from around 1990.